Key-arrester mechanism.



PMENTBD 00129, 1906.

F. S. THORNLEY.

KEY ARRESTBR MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY8,1905.

3 SHEETS-SEEET 1V PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

F. S. THORNLEY. KEY ARRESTER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULYB, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Maw/@WY No. 832,933. PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

F. S. THORNLBY. KEY ARRESTER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULYS, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET S,

m xv` SA/wem d@ UNITED STAT 3S PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIC S. THORNLEY, OF PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA, ASSIGXOR OF ONE-HALF TO W. S. LITTLE, OF PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA.

KEY-ARRESTER MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 9, 1906.

Original application filed May 5, 1905, Serial 110.259,476. Divided and this application tiled .Iuly 8, 1905. Serial No. 269 ,114.

O all lull/01111, it fnwty/ concern,.-

Be it known that I, FREDERIC S. THORN- LEY, a citizen of the United States of Amer-- vote-indicating keys or devices may operate when moved to voted position to prevent movement of various other keys and devices.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig-ure 1 is a rear elevation of a votingmachine involving m r im rovement, the rear door or closing-p ate eing removed. Figs. 2 and 3 are detail elevations of two forms of mechanism constituting my improvement, and Figs. 4 and 5 are cross-sections of the same. Fi Ys. 6 and 7 are detail 4views illustrating the key-bars and connections.

In a general way my' improved lvotingmachne is constructed of a casing adapted to contain and sup ort various operating devices, and parts o said casin are herein shown and comprise a bottom p ate 10,v end plates 11 12,4 a topplate 14, and a vertical partition-plate 16.A A plurality of arbors 18 are arrangedl a vertical row near)` the end plate 11 of the casing and are journaled for oscillation in the partition-plate 16. Straightticket keys are mounted on the arbors 18 and are adapted for manual oscillation' to move said arbors,which in turn move ticket-bars, as set forth in the parent application, and-are moved back toinitial ositlon by said bars.

A- lurality of can date-keys 20 are provideci one key for each candidate to be voted for on the machine, and said keys are arran ed in horizontal rows throughout each .of t e tickets in the planes of the straightticket keys and also are arranged in vertical rows in res ect of the offices to beilled by the respective candidates.- The keys 20 are keys 2() and their arbors in whatever position they may be placed manually. Straightticket bars 25, one for each mechanicallyvoted ticket, are mountedtparallel with each other in horizontal planes and are arranged for reciprocation in slide-bearings fixed to the front face of the partition-plate 16. Each ofthe ticket-bars 25 is arranged immediately below a ticket row of ke 's. The straightticket keys are provided with arms 19, adapted to engage studs 27 on the ticket-bars 25, to move said bars toward the end plate 12. Studs 28 and 29 are 4formed on or xed to the bars 25 and project horizontally forward and are adapted to enga e the arms 22 and oscillate the arbors 21A an keys 2() in one direction. The studs 28 servethe additional purpose of preventing movement of the arms 19 beyond'the studs 27. The studs 29 serve the additional purpose of engaging opposit faces of adjacent arms 22 and osclllating the arbors 21 and keys 20 in the opposite direction at times, and to this end an extra stud 29 is provided at the extreme ri ht of eachticket'row. Stops 30 aremounte in andproject horizontally forward from the partitionplate 16 adjacent each key 20 and are adapted to engage and sto the rearward movement of the arms 22, and t ereby'determine the degree of oscillation of the arbors 21 and keys in one direction. Linksl are pivotally supported on and extend throu h slots 32 inthe partitionplate 16, and'sai y links ane drawn 1n one direction by springs 33. The links 31 extend. across end ortions of the bars25 and serve to move said bars'to the left after. said bars have been moved to the right b manual force applied tothe straight-ticket cys.

' A locking device is provided for each row of single candidates and is"y constructed as follows: A plurality of plates 44 are mounted for vertical reciprocation in bearings on the rear face of the partition-plate 16 and engage each other end to end. Notches 45 are formed inthe lower ends of .the plates 44 to receive blades 46 on the arbors 21, and downward movement of said plates is prevented by engagement with said blades. Upward movement of one, another,'or` all of the plates 44 is permitted to the extent of one-'half of the width of either of the blades, and no more,

further movement being prevented by engagement of the 'upper end of the upper plate with a .stop or by engagement of another of the plates with a blade. The blades.

\ the blade lifts the plate or plates 44 above -it to the limit of upward movement, and in its new position said blade prevents elevation of a plate 44 below it and prevents depression of the plates above it. By preventing depression ofthe plates, above it-the turned lade also prevents turnin of another blade i above it and by locking t e late or lates below prevents turning of a b ade in a ower plane in the same candidate row. Thus the turnin of either single-candidate ke into i vote positionl eflectually locks t e remaining keys in the same candidate row, A locking device is provided for each group ofv lural candidates (wheretwo or more candi ate-rows are grouped together iirordery that an elector may vote for more than one candidate) and is constructed as follows: A

spring 48 is anchored at one end, in this instance' on a yoke 49, incapable of further` downward movement, and then follows a sinuous course adjacent to blades 46 on the arbors oftwo o r more rows of keys 20 and is adjustably anchored .at its opposite end, in this instance by a screw 50 traversing a lug 51 on theplate, 16. In this instance the blades 46 are arranged at right angles to the positions ofthe bla es 46 and normally occupy planes parallel with the spring 48. There is sufficient slack betweenthe ends of the spring 48 to ermit just the desired number of keys to e turned and .turn the de- .sired number of blades 46, (dotted lines,

Fig."3,) to flex thespring slightly'from its true course. The spring 1s confined. against lateral movement -at points between rthe blades 46 by bearings 52, fixed tothe plate 1.6, and the Aflexing of said spring between' said bearings apphes such tensile strain to ed in the locking-bar 85.

the spring as to prevent turning of -either of theother blades. rings 47 a are formed on and extendlaterally from and at right angles to the blades 46a at the rear of the spring 48. Recording-bars 53 are mounted for reciprocationinbearing's 54, fixed to the rear face of allel with and spaced apart from the tplate 1.6, and one of such bars is provided for each ticket. The recording-bars 53 are pivotally connected to the short arms of the pawls 35 by means of a rod 55.

Voteregisters 56' (illustrated in conventional `form in Fig.'1)

the plate 16. 'lhe recording-bars 53 are parare mounted on the recordin -bars 53, and. 1

one of said registers is provi ed for each of.'

The operation of turning the candidates. the keys 20 into voted positions moves the wings 47 47a into the path of travel of theA vote-registers 56, and in the further operation of the machine said vote-registers are carried laterally by the recording-bars 53 and caused to engage with and be moved rotatably by s'aid wings. v j y In some localities and on some occasions all electors are not 4qualified to vote on all candidates or questions, and I' have made provision for locking all voting devices'for uestions and candidates as to which an e ector is disqualified, as follows; A plurality of bell-crank levers 82 83 are provided and are fulcrumedon the late 16. Each of the levers 82 83 is forme with a long arm extending across the athcf travel of removable and replaceab e studs 84 in a lockingbar 85, mounted for rectilinear reciprocation on the plate 16. Each of the levers 82 is Ico formed with a short arm adapted to engage the lower end of the -lowerIn-ost plate 44-of a vertical row of suchl plates and lift themy into such position that neither of the candidatekeys or independent keys of such row may be moved to voted position. 83 is formed with a short arm engaging and controlling a block 86, whereby strain may be applied to 4exhaust the slack of a lockingspring 48 and prevent the movement of any grou -key ycontrolled by said spring into vote position. A lurality of levers 87 of the second class are crumcd rat their lower ends on the plate 16 and extendlupward across the horizontal plane of the row of Each of the levers Irc question-keys 8081 and have their .uplpe end portions crossing the path :of trave studs 88, removably and replaceabl mountrock 89 is mounted for oscillation parallel with` the shaft 34 in bearings fixed tothc plate 1.6 and is connected by a crank-arm 90 thereon to one end ofthe locldng-bar 85. A retractile coil-spring 91 connects oneend of the locking-bar v85 to theplate 16.' The rock-shaft 89 is arranged to bepscillated by booth j mechanism, 4as explained in .the companion :lpplicationof .which this is a division. v Par- '1y-disqiialied electors .on entering the 4o to receive thebla booth oscillate the rock-shaft'89 and crank-v arm 90, which actuates the locking-bar toward the right and causes studs 8 4 88 to engage levers 82, 83, ai! 87 and put said levers 1n such positionsas will lock the lates 44 and springs 48 against such candi ates and questions as come within the disqualification. After Avoting this elector returns as he came, and the spring 91 returns the locking-bar 85 to normal position and releases the levers 82, 83, and 87 from the influence of the studs 84 and 88. I claim as my inventioni 1. In a voting-machine, a series of party rows of ke's, each party row containing a straight-tic et key and candidate-keys',v a bar mounted -for reciprocation, '-a std'on said bar Vadapted to be'Y engaged by said straight-ticket key, studs onsaid b'ar adapted to engage and move saidl candidate-keys in each direction dependent on the movement of said bar, a series of locking-plates arran ed forreciprocation at rightangles to .sai bar, said 'locking-plates in abutting contact with each other and having equal range of movement, each locking-plate formed with a notch in one end to receive a candidate-key, and a blade oneach candidate-ke Y and adapted to turn W-ith said key ina noto betweenpairs of said lockinglates and exhaust the range of movement o all the plates.

2. In a voting-machine a series ofrows of for individual rotaseries. of rows locking-plates mounted for reci rocation at rightangles to the rows of can idate-ke s, the lates in each row abutting each ot er an having equal range of movement,I each e of. a candidate-key, bars late fo'rmedwith a notch mounted for reciprocation,v studs onsaid bars adapted tol engage and move said candidate-keys rotatably in opposite directions, straight-ticket keys adapted h to move said bars in one direction to turn said -blades between pairs of locking-plates and exhaust than springs to move said bars in reverse direcrange of movement of all the plates,

tions. j 3. In a voting-machine, a series of rows of candidate-keys mounted for individual rotation in a fixed late, blades on said keys, a series of rows olocking-plates mounted for reci rocation at'right angles'to the rows of v can 'date-ke s, the lates in'each row abutting e'ach ot er an having equal range of movement, each late formed with a notch to receive .the bla mounted for reciprocation, studs on sai bars adapted to engage and move said candie of a candidate-key, bars date-keys rotatably in opposite directions,

straight-ticket keys adapted to move said bars in one direction to turn said blades bethis 3d day of July, 1905.

.FREDERIC s. THORNLEY.

y' 'Wi-messes;1 JOHN R. MYA kW. S. LrrrLE.

Signed by me at Pierre, South Dakota,

vtween pairs oflocking-plates and exhaust 

